engineering

Why employee owned businesses are better equipped to cope with recession

I attended a very interesting and stimulating event today which was arranged jointly by the Employee Ownership Association and John Lewis Partnership.  The line up of speakers was impressive - Will Davies (Reinventing the Firm), Richard Wilkinson (Spirit Level)  , Philip Blond (Respublica), Charlie Mayfield (Chairman John Lewis) Prof Joseph Lampel (CASS business school) and John Kay (Financial Times).  The purpose of the event was the launch of a new report by CASS Business School which examined the growth of employee owned firms.  More of that later when I get a chance to digest the report an

People - the best assets?

Tragic announcements yesterday about the massive job losses from Astrazeneca and Babcock, together with the anticipated losses following the Cadbury takeover really call into question how much we value labour.

Successful engineering company, Clansman Dynamics Ltd, now owned by its employees

Just before Christmas, East Kilbride based Clansman Dynamics Ltd became the latest company to enter into employee ownership.  Clansman Dynamics Ltd is a successful company with a very strong order book.  They build robotics and have a world wide reputation for quality and excellent customer service.  What sets Clansman apart from their competition is the attention to detail - the customer is consulted on the design ensuring not only technical excellence but also considering ease and com

Leading design firm The Alloy, now owned by its employees.

How do you make a dream last?  When you create something that is different, that is special, how can you keep it going, if not forever, then for as long as possible?  It's an issue for owners who build up a successful business.

I first met Gus Desbarats, founder of The Alloy Ltd, at the annual Employee Ownership Conference in the UK a few years ago. He told me of his dream to get his company into an employee owned structure.

Realising company value - the cost of employee ownership

At Baxi Partnership, we believe that business owners should be able to get a fair price for their company.  After all, for many entrepreneurs and family businesses, their company represents a life's work; a life in which personal interests and relationships have often been sacrificed.  However, we are currently working with a number of companies where the company owner is selling the business to the employees at a significant discount.  Several of these individuals could realise a much better price for their company were they to pursue a trade sale.  Why would they not do so?  Why do they not

Real employee ownership, not empty employee engagement

Much has been written about "employee engagement", and getting "discretionary effort" out of employees. Managers want employees to demonstrate "ownership". Why should they when the enterprise is often owned by faceless shareholders interested mainly in their return on investment?

Keeping it local

Stewart-Buchanan Gauges has been running successfully for the past 130 years. Frank Phair, the owner, is now facing the issue of who takes on the business as he looks for a successor. A trade sale, undoubtedly a more lucrative option, would likely result in a move to the Far East and yet another engineering firm lost to the Scottish economy.